Early and Often Young racers came from across the country to test themselves against the nation’s best. World Cup regu- lars Tommy Ford and Julia Mancuso indeed provided a solid gauge of world-class skiing as they combined to dominate the first three days of competitions, taking their respective giant slalom and super G events. There is something about spring national championships that agrees with Tommy Ford’s style of racing. Be it an extra bump of energy at the end of the season or an affinity for soft snow, Ford, of Bend, Ore., and a product of the Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation, seems to thrive back at home after a long season in Europe. Though Ford didn’t take this year’s downhill national championship race (it was won by Canadian Dustin Cook at Aspen in mid-February), he put together a string of five national wins and seven medals. After tak- ing three 2010 national titles (slalom, GS and combined) he repeated the feat this year, adding the super G gold to his collection and defending his combined and GS crowns. Only Colby Granstrom’s slalom victory was able to stop the all-Ford title sweep in Winter Park. Ford finished second in the slalom. Ford’s GS gold was particularly sweet as he proved himself in difficult, soft conditions while taking on the world’s best GS skier in teammate Ted Ligety, who led the first run but landed third. Ford was the first racer on the super G course two days later, setting a pace no other racer could reach by a tenth of a second. “It was unbelievable to be consistent through all this crappy snow, and I’m happy with my skiing through it,” said a very humble Ford, who also collected two top- 20 World Cup results this season. “Ted’s been skiing well all year and I’ve been struggling a little bit and it’s just nice to end on that note.” Julia Mancuso, meanwhile, came into Nationals with her first World Cup win in four years thanks to landing first two weeks earlier at the Lenzerheide downhill. In the GS, she fell a full second and a half behind team- mate Sarah Schleper after the first run. But then, prodded by Schleper’s performance, Mancuso tore into the sun-softened second-run course to claim her third consecutive GS title with a 0.61-second advantage in combined time. Speed skier Stacey Cook surprised even herself with a bronze medal in the GS. “Sarah really laid it down first run,” said Mancuso, who was back on her race boards after some post-World Cup season R & R in the Squaw Valley powder. “Maybe she shouldn’t have gone so fast, then I wouldn’t get so mad and want to ski fast. It’s always hard to get back on the race skis after a little break, but second run I was a little more ready; it was softer but it was fun, a little wild ride, like skiing in Squaw.” Mancuso did it again in the next day’s super G, cruising down two-tenths of a second faster than her near- est competitor, Leanne Smith. “She’s an incredible skier, we all know that,” said Smith of Mancuso. “It’s fun for me to run behind her be- cause it fires me up a little more.” With the super G win, Mancuso notched her 13th career national title, extending her U.S. record. It was also her first super G crown since 2003. “It’s really nice to win races; it’s not something that happens very often for me because I’m racing World Cup all the time,” said Mancuso with a broad smile. “It’s just fun to come out and race with everyone, of course today is even better; it’s nice to race in the spring weather. It’s a beautiful day out here so it’s kind of one of those moments where you are really thankful for your job.” BEN DRUMMOND
CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011 U.S. ALPINE
Julia Mancuso had an epic
second run to lock down her third
consecutive GS national title.
Speed specialist Stacey Cook was
as surprised as anybody to take
the bronze medal in the GS.
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